I was given the chance to talk (on phone) with Korean star Rain last Friday (April 25). The phone interview was arranged by the Warner Bros as part of their promotion activity for movie “Speed Racer”.
The interview was done with the help of an interpreter. The only English words Rain had said were “Hi, I am Rain” and “Thank you, thank you. Nice to be hearing from you”… but I’ll take it as an honour regardless.
So here it is, my interview with Rain…
Interview with Rain
Hi, I am Rain.
- Anneohaseyo, thanks for accepting the interview.
Anneohaseyo.
Q: What is your biggest attraction to appeal to the western audiences?
I think being an Asian itself is a big attraction for the audience over here.
Q: What is the biggest different working in Korea and working in a Hollywood production?
Actually there is not much different between working in America and Korea; maybe the language is different, but most of all it’s similar.
Q: What is the biggest challenge while filming the Speed Racer, is English still a barrier?
Actually it hasn’t been a year yet that I started to learn English; I am trying to do my best to get this language overcome. By next year I think I will be much better and free from this English barrier.
For now I don’t want to make any mistakes in public, so I am using an interpreter.
Q: Is Rain a fan of the original anime?
Actually, Speed Racer was before I was born. I didn’t have the chance to watch what it is, but now I am a huge fan of it, definitely.
Q: Who is your best friend among the cast? Did you make any good friends while filming the movie?
Actually for our cast, it was like a family to me; but amongst them, Susan Sarandon and Matthew Fox are my best friends… if I have to pick somebody.
Q: Tell me more about the directors.
The Wachowski brothers were really really nice and they are very great person to work with.
Q: Do you share any similarities with Taejo, your character in the movie? I mean your own real personality and the character in the movie.
There is nothing really in common between my character and his, but me being a bit dry… and quiet… might be a bit similar.
Q: I read that you are disguising as a woman in the movie, mind sharing more about the story?
This is my first time dressing like a woman, and it’s the first time I knew my legs are actually very pretty.
Q: There are a few Korean stars that are making their Hollywood debut this year, what do you think about the rising popularity of Korean artists in US?
Right now I don’t think that there is much popularity of Korean stars in America yet, but as along the way if there is more… good. I think the popularity of Korean actors will increase together with other Asian actors as well.
Q: Is this the proudest moment throughout your career, or is there any other thing else?
Yes, for me right now it is the proudest moment, but I wish there will be more proud moments in future in my life as well.
- Best wishes to you. Thanks for the interview, kamsahamnida.
Thank you, thank you. Nice to be hearing from you.
(minor editing was done for the completeness of the conversation)
The interview was conducted on behalf of Stareastasia.com, which I am one of the editors. We got the invitation in March to cover Rain’s promotion in Los Angeles, but none of the editors could make it to LA, so we had to resort to a phone interview instead… which was not bad at all.
To be frank there wasn’t much direct conversation with Rain. I was a bit surprise that he didn’t use his English for the interview; I have watched some of his English interviews on Youtube, and I think he did pretty well with those. He sounds humble and polite during the interview, a bit more of confidence with his English is what he need to excel in the west.
I know some of Rain’s fans are eager to see some saucy and more private questions, but do mind that this is a promotion event for Speed Racer after all… I should keep the questions related to the movie as much as possible.
Speed Racer will hit the theaters on May 9. You can watch some trailers and get more information about the movie as its official website. Thanks to Rain, Warner Bros, and the coordinators for the interview.
[...] the original transcript by YJ, our editor who conducted the [...]
Rain, marry me!!!!
yay, it’s up!!! why so serious questions? if i get the chance to interview rain i will ask him whether he plans to go naked in movies in future or his relationship with korean actress he has work with :p
nvm, it’s still nice, good job :)
lol, the questions are good.
you don’t want to make him uncomfortable.
since he is such a polite guy, the interviewer should be polite too.
i use to like him, then i sort of stopped, i think i like him again now! and more too =]
good questions there, great job YJ.
but i feel the interview was too short, i mean… it’s an exclusive interview xD
Congratulations on the interview! The questions are slightly ordinary but I like your report because it sounds very professional. I hope you can interview more stars after this, congrats again =)
hello, I just read at Popseoul the exclusive interview… and now your interview also exclusive? I am confused, which is the real exclusive interview?
kyon… I wish I could ask that too lol. Honestly, I don’t want to be blacklisted by the Warner Bros. It’s not easy for non-prime media to score this kind of interview… I don’t want to create a bad name, and hopefully me (and perhaps some other bloggers) would get the chance to cover some future events again.
bb and Marie… thanks for the compliment.
red… thanks. I only got 8 minutes, and with all the (time for) translations, this is possibly as much as I could get. Actually the time was up before I realised it, 8 minutes were dang short.
As for the exclusiveness… Warner Bros allocated a time slot for the phone interviews; each interviewer was given 8 minutes (I assumed) without the attendant of other media… and we had our own sets of questions (and answers obviously).
Each of these interviews is exclusive respectively, there is no real or fake about it. As far as I know… Stareastasia.com, Popseoul.com and Thai site Nangdee.com were given the chances and have published their own exclusive interviews and featured stories :)
Rain dressing up as a woman???? OMFG!!! I so wanted to watch the movie now!!!
HI RAIN
YOU KNOW WHAT
IM YOUR NO.1 FANS IN THE PHILIPPINES
thank you Thank You THANK YOU for the interview…anything involving Rain = A+++!!! =0D
I think you did a gr8 job, ESPECIALLY considering that you only had 8 minutes & an interpreter was involved as well! :o)
Hopefully we’ll have the chance to read more exclusive interviews on your site in the near future! (^_^)
Aren’t you the popseoul lady? I’m confused, your name sounds like the one mentioned on the phone…
[...] Another Rain interview [Yeinjee] [...]
I liked the questions you asked him…very professional.
Does this mean you have Rain’s number? jk
That’s relief that there’s someone who can interview Rain in decent manner…
Do you have audio clip?
Did he really dress up like woman?
I got to see this. man.
I wonder how many bloggers interviewed him over the phone on that day…
interesting.
[...] Rain’s Interview With StarEastAsia.com 28 04 2008 Check it out! [...]
I’ve clicked that link… but it’s come back to this blog… @_@
Bjork… you are welcome, and thanks for the compliment. I wish I will have more chances in future, not really sure though… it happens by chance lots of the time.
lurker… not at all. My name sounds very Korean actually, especially the ‘Jee’… you might hear it a few times during a Korean conversation, and I guess that’s why.
Emilie… omg, asking his number should be my first question ain’t so? :p
Aquarious… I’ll take that as a compliment as well. Thanks.
I don’t have a proper audio; the recording was done by old style tape recording, and the quality is really bad. Pardon me for that.
huh… I think so… as long as it is not cut in post-production. I wonder how his die hard fans are going to react to this one lol.
wonder… at least 3 (that I have confirmed)… I am guessing around 6-7 though. What link?
ur questions should be:
1 did u have sex with Hyori?
2 did u have sex with Song Hye Gyo?
3 did u have sex with any other artists?
4 none of the above? r u stil a virgin or r u gay?
5 want to have sex? let’s rock n roll!
jk jk lol…. nice interview =]
Anon… Rain would hang the phone before I finish the second question. The questions sound a bit rude, but frankly… I think that’s what his fans would love to hear most :p
What a bad and rude interview !!
What is your intention in asking him the preference of those bad nicknames, which is nothing relate to Speed Racer Movie?
@char: I think you have the wrong site… Popseoul was the one that asked him about the nicknames…hehe Magic Feet xD
I’ve listened and read both interviews, while Popseoul’s was entertaining and allowed fans to hear his voice as well as his English skills, or lack thereof…This interview was more professional and focused on Speed Racer. I couldn’t really understand what he was saying in the Popseoul interview…
So, thanks for this and great job for scoring the interview! I look forward to watching and reading about Rain’s progression in the U.S and I wish him the best of luck in his career - he’s trying extremely hard!
But OMG, I do wish there some more personal questions but obviously this was about Speed Racer - can’t wait to see it ^_^
you did a great interview in a professional way. thank you very much!
Thank goodness, there is still someone who is professional when it should be.
I have one question though: How were you feeling when you were interviewing him?
thank you^^ you did a great job….
anonymous…
well, you better be kidding. lol.
the link above my last post.
“This is my first time dressing like a woman, and it’s the first time I knew my legs are actually very pretty.”
I’m laughing my butt off. Is he teasing or serious?
That’s corny… somehow makes me wanna watch the film.
If that’s his purpose of saying that, he’s got what he wants.
Actually, he looks quite feminine these days. :DDD
hi rain,
why not u come to MALAYSIA and do some concerts.
we are waiting 4 u…..
wish u all da best
Did Rain have sex with Hyoree ???
i am asking this question ,because i heard /read rumors that they did ??
I dont know ,it could be true or not !!!
its a mystery or should i say ex files thingy .
My opinion ,its unknown !!
could be !!!
Who knows ?
char… barbarobotaschica has made the explanation for me (thanks!), you obviously mistaken my site with another one.
barbarobotaschica, Tan, choo, sonya… thanks for the compliment.
wonder… the link in the comment section is signature link. If the commentors do run a blog or website, it’s a good way to create more interaction between different websites. My comment signature is linking back to this site obviously… which is a good way for people to identify that it’s the webmaster who is writing.
meeme… well, the purpose of an interview is to get the right attention. His ‘pretty legs’ statement is obviously an attraction for his fans ain’t so? I guess it would give a good chance for his haters to bash him again though lol.
lyla… he had a concert in Malaysia about one or two years ago. Considering his current schedule, we would probably need to wait for another year or two for him to come to this region again.
Burger… you have answered your own question actually. It’s not true until it’s proven true… let it be.
hey that’s cool! saw him speaking english on tv as well, think he’s ok on english, but maybe not so comfortable yet.